Debated in Parliament on 14 Feb 2022.
Ms He Ting Ru asked the Minister for Health (a) in each of the last five years, how many persons with caring responsibilities approached the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) for help; (b) how many of these carers required assistance for (i) between three and six months (ii) six and 12 months and (iii) more than a year; and (c) what is the breakdown of the types of help provided by AIC to these individuals.
Over the past five years, the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) received an average of 100,000 enquiries per year through their physical and virtual touchpoints. As multiple enquiries could be submitted through different channels, this figure is not reflective of the number of unique individuals. AIC does not track whether enquires were made by caregivers, seniors, or healthcare professionals, nor the duration of assistance provided.
AIC supports caregivers through a variety of means. AIC places seniors with various eldercare services, such as day and home care, palliative and nursing home care, and respite care services, to meet their short-, medium- and long-term care needs. Over the last five years, AIC referred about 34,000 seniors per year to eldercare services.
AIC also administers support schemes, such as the Caregivers' Training Grant (CTG), the Home Caregiving Grant (HCG), and the expanded Seniors' Mobility and Enabling Fund (SMF), to enable caregivers to receive training and financial support. In 2021 alone, around 34,400 and 19,500 beneficiaries received the HCG and SMF, respectively.
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